Shadows of Doubt Read online

  

  Brac Village 29

  Shadows of Doubt

  When Samson volunteers to help with the cleanup after the heavy rains, he had no idea he would be paired with such a hot guy. Deputy Eric Jacoby is one hell of a piece of eye candy, to the point Samson just might suffer a cavity, but Samson and his mother are in hiding from her abusive mate and Samson doesn’t have time to date. They fled to Brac Village months ago, hoping James never found them. But someone is after Eric, and Samson fears whoever it is won’t stop until Eric is dead.

  Deputy Eric Jacoby had no idea the man he was paired with was his mate. The guy was so short and compact that he looked as though he would be swallowed up by the soupy mud. He wants to claim the human right away, but Samson is wary. When Eric finds out that his mate is in trouble, it’s up to him to keep Samson safe.

  Genres: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Contemporary, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, Shape-shifter

  Length: 33,491

  SHADOWS OF DOUBT

  Brac Village 29

  Lynn Hagen

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Shadows of Doubt

  Copyright © 2019 by Lynn Hagen

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-675-4

  First Publication: February 2019

  Cover design by Emma Nicole

  All art and logo copyright © 2019 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.

  You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.

  For all titles by Lynn Hagen, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  SHADOWS OF DOUBT

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  SHADOWS OF DOUBT

  Brac Village 29

  LYNN HAGEN

  Copyright © 2019

  Chapter One

  The heavy rains and flooding that had happened two days ago had caused some serious damage, and the residents of Brac Village were still trying to clean up the mess it had caused.

  Deputy Eric Jacoby had worked tirelessly to help stuck motorists, stranded people, and to reunite animals with their owners. Now he was part of the recovery unit that had been put together by Sheriff Werth to find those that had been reported missing. Alpha Maverick Brac or, to the human residents, Mayor Brac, had promised they wouldn’t stop until every last body was found. Of course, he had said “the missing” instead of “the dead,” but it had been forty-eight hours, and none of the people helping held out hope that the missing would be found alive.

  Or even found at all. The back roads had turned into raging rivers during the storm, and now there was so much soupy mud and debris that Eric seriously doubted they would uncover any bodies.

  He drove his dark gray 4X4 Jeep Rubicon down one of the back roads to meet up with a few volunteers that were dedicating their weekend to help in the search.

  After parking and getting out, Eric strode over to Fire Chief Bear Callahan and waited for the chief to hand out instructions.

  “If you find a body, mark it with the small red flags being handed out,” the chief said. “Under no circumstances are you to dig the body out yourselves. We have qualified men who will handle that part of the job. Everyone head over to the sign-in table. We want to keep a record of those that are here so we can make sure everyone is accounted for at the end of the day. At the table, you’ll be partnered with someone, and then you’ll be given the tools you need.”

  Sheriff Werth had given the “don’t touch the body” order to the chief, just in case the dead body wasn’t from the flood and someone had used the storm to commit a nefarious act. The volunteers might stumble onto foul play, and the BVPD wanted to secure the crime scene—if that was what it turned out to be.

  Eric walked over to the sign-in table and scribbled his name on the sheet. The guy sitting there handed him a small plastic map of the quadrant he would be searching.

  “You’ll be working with Mr. Samson Woods,” the sign-in guy said. He pointed to a slim man who couldn’t be taller than five feet four. Samson had sandy-blond hair and the bluest eyes Eric had ever seen, and that was from twenty feet away. He could just imagine how they looked up-close.

  Samson stood by the tool table wearing tight-fitting jeans, a blue button-up shirt, and a black winter vest. He also had on blue rain boots that had little yellow ducks on them.

  Great, he was being paired with a guy who didn’t look as though he could tromp through inches of mud without needing a break every five seconds or might end up needing rescued himself.

  “Good luck,” the guy behind the table said before he smiled at the next person in line.

  This was not gonna be his day. He walked over to Samson and stuck his hand out. “I guess we’ll be working together. I’m Deputy Eric Jacoby.”

  Samson turned those blue gems on Eric as he gave him a brilliant white smile. “I feel like I know you already.” He shook Eric’s hand. His hand felt delicate, and his skin was smooth. “Newt talks about all the men who work at the police station.”

  “You know Newt?”

  Samson bit his lower lip as he nodded. “I work with him at the candy store.” He slid his gaze over Eric in the most provocative manner. “But he never mentioned how gorgeous you were.”

  Eric pulled his hand free, uncomfortable with the way Samson was checking him out. “We need to get started.”

  Samson shrugged as he grabbed a handful of the red flags and two long, thin poles they would use to poke the mud. He handed one of the poles to Eric. “Let’s get started then.”

  The affected area had been taped off into quadrants, with long red poles sticking out of the areas that had already been searched. Eric looked at the map and saw they needed to be in quadrant six, which was a mile east of where they stood.

  “I think we should drive to our area.” Eric tucked the map into his jacket pocket.

  “However you want to do this.” Samson brushed his sandy-blond hair from his eyes and smiled at Eric. “I’m all yours for the day.”

  With a roll of his eyes, Eric headed back to his Rubicon. Why couldn’t he have been teamed with someone tall and muscular? That would have made the search easier. He just prayed Samson wasn’t more hindrance than help.

  After the two hopped in, Eric turned the Rubicon a
round and headed back down the road. He made a left at the junction in the road as the quietness in the Jeep surrounded him.

  “Don’t let my looks fool you,” Samson said as Eric made the turn on Churchill Road.

  Eric drove half a mile before pulling over and cutting the motor.

  “And why is that?” he finally asked.

  “Because I’m a hard worker and I’m tougher than I look.” Samson opened the door and got out, leaving Eric to stare at his nicely shaped ass.

  Stop checking the guy out like this is some kind of date. But Eric couldn’t help where his eyes strayed. Samson was the cutest thing he’d seen in a long while, even if he dreaded working with the guy.

  He’d reached for his handle when he inhaled the potent scent of daises.

  Daisies? Frowning, Eric inhaled deeper and felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. The pull had him exiting the Jeep and following after…fuck me. There was no doubt in his mind that Samson was his mate. There was no other explanation for his cougar going wild and Eric’s heart hammering so hard behind his ribs that his chest hurt.

  He looked at the human in a whole new light as his mate stopped at the edge where the dry land met the soupy mud. Samson wrinkled his nose and turned back to look at Eric.

  “I normally hate to get messy, but since this is for a good cause, please don’t hold it against me if I whine about getting filthy.” With his fistful of red flags in one hand and his long pole in the other, Samson moved cautiously forward.

  Eric simply stood there with his head cocked to the side. Samson had said he was tougher than he looked, but in his opinion, the guy appeared…delicate.

  He still couldn’t believe the revelation that he’d found his mate. His felt as though his center of gravity had shifted. But Samson was human, which meant Eric would have to explain the preternatural world to the guy.

  “Are you coming?” Samson called out to him.

  Shaking himself from his thoughts, Eric went to the back of his Jeep for his pole.

  Their area was about a fourth of a mile long, and about a half-mile wide. To the left the soupy mixture ran the length of the river. To the right it ended where the forest began. The open area hadn’t been so expansive in the past, but the storm had washed away a lot of trees and eroded a lot of the land.

  “Wait up,” Eric called out when Samson walked too far into the mud for his comfort.

  Samson wobbled back and forth as he pulled his blue boots with yellow ducks up from the mud, only to press them back in as he made steady progress forward. He was getting too far ahead, and if something happened, Eric might not get to him in time to save him from a disaster.

  His pocket-sized mate just might get sucked in and never resurface.

  “I got this.” Samson looked over his shoulder and smiled at him, and the smile made Eric’s stomach do crazy flip-flops. “This crap just keeps sucking my boots in and refusing to let them go. It’s almost like walking in quicksand, but I can’t say for sure since I’ve never walked in quicksand.”

  Eric didn’t point out that you didn’t walk in quicksand. You just sank.

  Samson dropped his flags and pole as his arms pinwheeled. He gave a loud squeak as he fell on his ass, the muck sucking him down.

  “Shit.” Eric took off to help his mate, fearing the shrimp would be pulled under. He was stunned when Samson threw his head back and laughed instead of screaming about the filth covering him or needing help.

  “I can honestly say this small area is clear.” Samson lifted his hands up and tried to shake the gunk off. “Though I’m not sure I can get up by myself.” He cocked his head to the side. “On the upside, a mud bath will make my skin smooth.”

  Eric found himself grinning as he waded toward Samson and grabbed his small, delicate hand, pulling until the mud gave way and released its prisoner.

  Samson held his arms out. “How do I look?”

  Fucking gorgeous. “I think you missed a spot.” He wiped his hand over Samson’s chin. “Now you’re covered completely.”

  “Except my hair.” Samson gave Eric the stink eye. “Don’t even think about messing it up.”

  Eric wasn’t going to tell Samson that speckles of mud were already in his hair. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  His mate searched for his pole and flags, and thankfully, they hadn’t been swallowed up. Samson grabbed them and used the pole to keep himself steady as they waded farther out, poking at the soupy mix along the way.

  “Sorry I’m not the partner you wished you'd been paired with.” Samson lifted his boot and grimaced. “I just couldn’t sit around and do nothing. I had to help. I was here yesterday, but this is the first time I’ve seen you out here.”

  Eric swung his arm out, ready to catch Samson when his mate teetered sideways. He used the pole to steady himself, waving Eric’s hand away.

  “The sheriff had me doing other things.”

  “Well, at least my luck turned around today.” Samson gave him a shy smile that set Eric’s loins on fire. “Instead of working with Fred Williams, a guy who coughs so much he’d wake the dead, I lucked out and got eye candy.” A frown puckered between Samson’s eyes as he lifted his pole and tapped it back into the slosh. “There’s something solid under here.”

  Eric took a red flag from Samson and stuck it in the mud before he pulled his cell phone out.

  “Wait.” Samson laid a hand on Eric’s wrist, sending ripples through him at the touch. His cougar purred, but Samson ignored the beast. “What if it’s just a log? Shouldn’t we check before you call in the cavalry? I’d feel silly if a whole crew showed up to dig up a log.”

  “The mud has gotta be at least two feet thick,” Eric pointed out. “We don’t have the tools to dig that deep.”

  “We have our hands.” Samson dropped his pole and the rest of his flags and started digging into the mud. “Maybe it’s lost treasure. Do you want to share our booty?”

  Of course Eric’s thoughts went right to the gutter as he forced himself not to look at his mate’s ass. But that was like trying to keep a moth from a flame. Eric’s eyes went right to his mate’s backside. “Samson, we really should wait.”

  His mate looked up at him and gave him the sweetest smile. “I like when you say my name. You have a deep voice, and it sounds sexy.”

  “Are you always this forward?” Against his better judgment, Eric started to help him dig. Debris sloshed against his fingers and Eric prayed nothing cut him. Being a shifter, he didn’t fear infection, but he inwardly grimaced at what could be smacking against his hands.

  He really hated squishy slime, and the muck had a weird odor that he didn’t want to inhale.

  “No, I’m not usually that forward.” Samson’s face turned a bright red as he looked away.

  It seemed the more they dug, the more the mud kept sliding back into the hole they were trying to make. Samson stopped digging and stuck his arms down as far as they would go until his shoulders were covered.

  Samson looked wide-eyed at Eric before he jerked his arms back. “I think I just touched someone’s hand!”

  With creased brows, Eric stuck his arm in and felt around. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he touched a jaw. “That’s it. I’m making the call.”

  Samson nodded as he used his pole as a marker and stuck it next to where the solid lump was. “I’m gonna go back to land. I don’t think I wanna see what or who is down there.”

  Neither did Eric. On the list of missing people, two of the names belonged to children, and although this was part of his job, Eric wouldn’t be able to stomach seeing a child pulled free.

  He called Werth and told his boss where he was before helping Samson back to dry land. They were covered in mud, and Eric was thankful he’d thought to bring sheets to cover his seats and a gallon of water to wash up with.

  Twenty minutes later, the place was crawling with cops and workers. Even Hanson Asbury, the crime scene tech, had shown up. Some volunteers had brought water and towels, which Eri
c and Samson used to clean themselves as best they could as a backhoe was brought in to dig the site.

  A Brac Village coroner’s van waited on the shoulder of the road as the backhoe started digging while men stood nearby, ready to pull free whoever had been trapped under there.

  Erick was seriously hoping they unearthed a tree but knew his wishful thinking was futile.

  Samson stood close to Eric, the top of his head reaching Eric’s pecs. His mate’s eyes were still a little too wide as he kept his back to the commotion while hugging one of the towels to his chest. “Are you as hungry as I am?”

  Eric knew Samson was trying to concentrate on anything other than the body. “Starving.”

  “After we’re done here, you wanna go get a bite to eat?” He looked down at himself. “I’m not sure we’ll be allowed in the diner looking like this, though.”

  “How about we head home and shower and then meet up?” Eric suggested as the backhoe reversed and the men who’d been standing there waiting yanked something thick and long from the muck.

  They carried the mud-covered body to dry land and laid it on the waiting gurney. Eric wasn’t happy that someone had died during the storm, but he was glad the bundle wasn’t small enough to be a child.

  “I think we can head out now.” Eric tossed his towel into the bag one of the volunteers had brought along with him.

  Samson looked up at him with dread in his eyes. “Is it…is it a child?”

  Eric squeezed his mate’s shoulder. “Too big. It has to be an adult.”

  With a quick nod, Samson headed toward Eric’s Jeep. Before either of them got in, Eric spread the sheets over the seats.

  “I’m glad I was here today to help, but I’m also upset that we actually found a body.” Samson kept his hands tucked between his knees, as though careful not to get the inside of Eric’s Jeep muddy.